While his college friends celebrated the end of midterm exams with a spring break trip to Florida, 21-year-old Wyatt Gable entered the home stretch of his bid to oust a 10-term Republican from the North Carolina House.

Weeks spent phone banking after class and driving about an hour home on the weekends to knock on doors paid off. The East Carolina University junior narrowly beat state Rep. George Cleveland, 84, this week in a primary election in which he cast himself as “the future of the Republican Party.”

Gable’s victory comes as voters nationwide express misgivings about the older ages of the frontrunners in the 2024 presidential race. Gable, who described himself as a “big Trump supporter,” said he hopes that his candidacy injects youthful energy into a Republican Party that is often dominated by “older people” at county meetings.
https://apnews.com/article/north-carolina-college-republican-primary-64f6da7d7e55578245f291918014b940